System and method for creating a three-dimensional bone image of a bone

ABSTRACT

A system for creating a three-dimensional (3D) bone image of a bone is used with a 3D bone model of the bone that includes a plurality of bony landmarks. The system includes a 3D scanning device to scan the bone and generate a bone contour image, and an image processing device. The image processing device processes the 3D bone model to obtain a plurality of spatial locations respectively of the bony landmarks, and processes the bone contour image to identify a plurality of features that correspond respectively with the bony landmarks and to obtain a plurality of spatial locations respectively of the features. The image processing device performs image registration for the 3D bone model and the bone contour image, so as to create the 3D bone image by proportionally overlapping the 3D bone model and the bone contour image.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No.106142744, filed on Dec. 6, 2017.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a system and a method for creating athree-dimensional bone image of a bone to assist orthopedics surgery.

BACKGROUND

Temporal bones are among many bones that constitute the skull, and housemany structures of the ears (i.e., the outer ear, the middle ear, theinner ear, the vestibular system, the facial nerve (CN VII), and bloodvessels, etc.).

An orthopedics surgery on the temporal bones involves employing anelectrical drill to drill one of the temporal bones. However, thesurgery has to be operated with extra care with respect to the abovestructures of the ears, as any wounds on the above structures of theears inflicted by the electrical drill may cause serious, sometimesfatal complications.

Conventionally, for a temporal bone surgery, a three-dimensional imagemodel of the skull of a patient is created using computed tomography(CT). A doctor then performs an analysis of the three-dimensional imagemodel to determine apart of the temporal bone that shows symptom anddetermine a spatial relation between the part of the temporal bone andthe structures of the ears (e.g., relative locations, distances, etc.).Afterward, the doctor may then perform the temporal bone surgery todrill the part of the temporal bone. With the knowledge of the spatialrelation and other clues, such as an appearance of a part of thetemporal bone that has been drilled, and a shape of the part of thetemporal bone that has been exposed upon drilling, the doctor may beable to determine aspects of the drilling such as a depth, a directionin which the drilling should be continued, and whether the drill shouldbe replaced with another tool.

SUMMARY

Therefore, one object of the disclosure is to provide a system forcreating a three-dimensional (3D) bone image of a bone to assistorthopedics surgery.

According to the disclosure, the system is used with a 3D bone model ofthe bone. The 3D bone model is constructed by scanning the bone usingX-ray computed tomography. The 3D bone model includes a plurality ofbony landmarks. The system includes:

a 3D scanning device to scan the bone and to generate a bone contourimage; and

an image processing device that is coupled to the 3D scanning device forreceiving the bone contour image, and that includes

a positioning unit to process the 3D bone model so as to obtain aplurality of spatial locations respectively of the bony landmarks, andto process the bone contour image so as to identify a plurality offeatures that correspond respectively with the bony landmarks and toobtain a plurality of spatial locations respectively of the features,

an image alignment unit to perform image registration for the 3D bonemodel and the bone contour image by aligning the spatial locations ofthe bony landmarks respectively with the spatial locations of thefeatures, so as to create the 3D bone image by proportionallyoverlapping the 3D bone model and the bone contour image, and

a display unit to display the 3D bone image.

Another object of the disclosure is to provide a method for creating athree-dimensional bone image of a bone to assist orthopedics surgery.

According to one embodiment of the disclosure, the method is implementedby a system used with a 3D bone model of the bone. The 3D bone model isconstructed based on a bone using X-ray computed tomography. The systemincludes a three-dimensional scanning device and an image processingdevice. The 3D bone model includes a plurality of bony landmarks. Themethod includes:

processing, by the image processing device, the 3D bone model to obtaina plurality of spatial location for the bony landmarks, respectively;

scanning, by the 3D scanning device, the bone to generate a bone contourimage;

processing, by the image processing device, the bone contour image so asto identify a plurality of features that correspond respectively withthe bony landmarks, and obtain a plurality of spatial locationsrespectively of the features; and

performing, by the image processing device, image registration for the3D bone model and the bone contour image by aligning the spatiallocations of the bony landmarks respectively with the spatial locationsof the features, so as to create the 3D bone image by proportionallyoverlapping the 3D bone model and the bone contour image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent inthe following detailed description of the embodiments with reference tothe accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a system for creating athree-dimensional bone image of a bone according to one embodiment ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of the system,according to one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a three-dimensional (3D) bone model of a bone and abone contour image being proportionally overlapped to create a 3D boneimage;

FIG. 4 illustrates a three-dimensional (3D) bone model of a bone and abone contour image being proportionally overlapped to create a 3D boneimage, the bone having a depressed area due to an orthopedics surgery;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of an exemplary 3D bone imageincluding an image of underlying structure;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for creating a 3D boneimage of a bone to assist orthopedics surgery according to oneembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating components of the systemaccording to one embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating components of the systemaccording to one embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be notedthat where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminalportions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures toindicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally havesimilar characteristics.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a system 2 for creating athree-dimensional bone image of a bone according to one embodiment ofthe disclosure.

In this embodiment, the system 2 is disposed on an operating table 600,and includes a three-dimensional (3D) scanning device 3 and an imageprocessing device 4.

Further referring to FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the system 2 isconfigured for creating a three-dimensional bone image 430 of a bone 701to assist orthopedics surgery, such as a temporal bone surgery.

The system 2 to be used with a 3D bone model 800 of the bone 701 thatmay be constructed by scanning the bone 701 using X-ray computedtomography (CT). In this embodiment, the 3D bone model 800 isconstructed with respect to a skull of a patient, and the bone 701 is atemporal bone. It is noted that the construction of the 3D bone model800 may be done in a manner that is known in the art, and thereforedetails regarding the construction of the 3D bone model 800 are omittedherein for the sake of brevity.

The 3D bone model 800 includes a plurality of bony landmarks 801 and animage of underlying structure 802.

The bony landmarks 801 relate to features of the bone 701, and areexposed and visually identifiable.

The image of underlying structure 802 corresponds with a part of thebone 701, and shows structures that are covered by the part of the bone701 (e.g., facial nerves, meninges, blood vessels, etc.).

The bone 701 may be disposed with a plurality of positioning components703 that correspond respectively with the bony landmarks 801. Thepositioning components 703 may each be embodied using a sticker, ablock, etc.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, in this embodiment, the bone 701 is partlyexposed for performing the orthopedics surgery, and is formed with adepressed area 702 during the orthopedics surgery. The depressed area702 of the bone 701 may be placed with a plurality of tagging components5 for identifying spots on the depressed area 702 that need moreinformation on the structures covered thereby. The tagging components 5may each be embodied using a sticker, a block, etc.

The 3D scanning device 3 may be operated by relevant personnel (e.g., anoperating doctor, an assistant, etc.) to scan the bone 701, so as togenerate a bone contour image 30 of the bone 701. It is noted that the3D scanning device 3 can detect the positioning components 703 and thetagging components 5. Accordingly, when the positioning components 703are placed on the bone 701 and/or the tagging components 5 are disposedon the depressed area 702, the bone contour image 30 contains images ofthe positioning components 703 and/or the tagging components 5.

It is noted that the operations of the 3D scanning device 3 to generatethe bone contour image 30 may be done in a manner that is known in theart, and therefore details thereof are omitted herein for the sake ofbrevity.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of the system 2according to one embodiment of the disclosure.

The image processing device 4 may be embodied using a computing device(e.g., a personal computer, a laptop, a tablet, a mobile device, etc.),and includes a processor unit 40, a display unit 41, a positioning unit42, an image alignment unit 43, a contour analysis unit 44, a directionanalysis unit 45, a distance analysis unit 46 and a communication unit47.

The processor unit 40 may include, but not limited to, a single coreprocessor, a multi-core processor, a dual-core mobile processor, amicroprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), afield-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), and/or thelike for performing operations that are to be described in thesucceeding paragraphs.

It is noted that in this embodiment, the components of the imageprocessing device 4 (i.e., the positioning unit 42, the image alignmentunit 43, the contour analysis unit 44, the direction analysis unit 45and the distance analysis unit 46) may be embodied using hardwarecircuitry or software that is stored in the image processing device 4and executed by the processor unit 40.

The communication unit 47 may include a wired connection socket, ashort-range wireless communicating module supporting a short-rangewireless communication network using a wireless technology of Bluetooth®and/or Wi-Fi, etc., and a mobile communicating module supportingtelecommunication using Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the third generation(3G) and/or fourth generation (4G) of wireless mobile telecommunicationstechnology, and/or the like. The communication unit 47 is capable ofconnecting with the 3D scanning device 3 for receiving the bone contourimage 30 and connecting with, for example, CT equipment for obtainingthe 3D bone model 800.

The positioning unit 42 is controlled by the processor unit 40 toprocess the 3D bone model 800 so as to obtain a plurality of spatiallocations respectively of the bony landmarks 801. In this embodiment,the spatial locations may be expressed in the form of sets ofcoordinates.

The positioning unit 42 is controlled by the processor unit 40 tofurther process the bone contour image 30 so as to identify a pluralityof features 421 that correspond respectively with the bony landmarks801, and so as to obtain a plurality of spatial locations respectivelyof the features 421 (see FIG. 4).

In one example, when the bone 701 is placed with a plurality ofpositioning components 703 that correspond respectively with the bonylandmarks 801, the positioning unit 42 is configured to obtain thespatial locations of the features 421 based on locations respectively ofthe positioning components 703.

In another example, the positioning unit 42 is configured to identifythe features 421 by analyzing the bone contour image 30 according toshapes respectively of the bony landmarks 801.

When the bone contour image 30 contains the images of the taggingcomponents 5, the positioning unit 42 further identifies a plurality oftagging points 501 (see FIG. 4) that correspond respectively with thetagging components 5, and obtains a plurality of spatial locationsrespectively of the tagging points 501.

The image alignment unit 43 is controlled by the processor unit 40 toperform image registration for the 3D bone model 800 and the bonecontour image 30. Specifically, the image alignment unit 43 performs theimage registration by aligning the spatial locations of the bonylandmarks 801 respectively with the spatial locations of the features421, so as to create the 3D bone image 430 by proportionally overlappingthe 3D bone model 800 and the bone contour image 30 (see FIG. 4).

The 3D bone image 430 may be displayed on the display unit 41 forviewing by the personnel, and is operable in various ways (e.g., move,rotate, zoomed in and out, etc.).

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the 3D bone image 430 shows a currentappearance of the bone 701 and the image of underlying structure 802that overlaps the bone contour image 30. Furthermore, the 3D bone image430 may show the feature(s) 421 and the tagging point(s) 501.

The contour analysis unit 44 is configured to process the bone contourimage 30 so as to indicate an operation surface 440 corresponding with acontour of the depressed area 702 on the 3D bone image 430.

In this embodiment, the 3D scanning device 3 may be operated to scan thebone 701 multiple times during the course of the orthopedics surgery, soas to generate multiple bone contour images 30 showing the bone 701 indifferent shapes. The contour analysis unit 44 is configured to processthe bone contour images 30 so as to obtain a more accurate indication ofthe operation surface 440. The operation surface 440 is then dynamicallyindicated in the 3D bone image 430.

In some embodiments, the contour analysis unit 44 may be configured topartition the operation surface 440 into a plurality of monitoringsectors (not depicted in the drawings).

The direction analysis unit 45 is configured to determine a direction ofthe image of underlying structure 802 with respect to the operationsurface 440 indicated in the 3D bone image 430. Furthermore, thedirection analysis unit 45 is configured to generate direction dataregarding the direction of the image of underlying structure 802.

Specifically, the direction data may be in the form of multiple sets ofcoordinates that correspond respectively with different spots on theimage of underlying structure 802 with reference to a preset referencepoint in a hypothetical 3D coordination system, and a plurality of setsof coordinates that correspond respectively with different spots on theoperation surface 440. The direction analysis unit 45 is configured todetermine the direction of the image of underlying structure 802 withrespect to the operation surface 440 using the direction data.

The distance analysis unit 46 is configured to determine distance dataregarding at lease one distance between the image of underlyingstructure 802 and the operation surface 400, based on the direction data(i.e., the sets of coordinates) generated by the direction analysis unit45.

In this embodiment, the distance analysis unit 46 includes ashortest-distance analyzing module 461, a vertical distance analyzingmodule 462, a horizontal distance analyzing module 463, and a distancealert module 464.

The shortest-distance analyzing module 461 is configured to obtain aplurality of shortest distances between the image of underlyingstructure 802 and the operation surface 400 respectively from themonitoring sectors, and the distance data includes the shortestdistances. For example, for each of the monitoring sectors that isobtained by the contour analysis unit partitioning the operation surface440, the shortest-distance analyzing module 461 calculates one shortestdistance to be included in the distance data.

In a case that the tagging components 5 are placed on the depressed area702, the shortest-distance analyzing module 461 further calculates oneshortest distance between each of the tagging components 5 and the imageof underlying structure 802.

The vertical distance analyzing module 462 is configured to obtain aplurality of vertical distances between the image of underlyingstructure 802 and the operation surface 440 respectively from themonitoring sectors. For example, for each of the monitoring sectors, thevertical distance analyzing module 462 calculates one shortest verticaldistance to be included in the distance data.

In the case that the tagging components 5 are placed on the depressedarea 702, the vertical distance analyzing module 462 further calculatesone shortest vertical distance between each of the tagging components 5and the image of underlying structure 802.

The horizontal distance analyzing module 463 is configured to obtain aplurality of horizontal distances between the image of underlyingstructure 802 and the operation surface 440 respectively from themonitoring sectors. For example, for each of the monitoring sectors, thehorizontal distance analyzing module 463 calculates one shortesthorizontal distance to be included in the distance data.

In the case that the tagging components 5 are placed on the depressedarea 702, the horizontal distance analyzing module 463 furthercalculates one shortest horizontal distance between each of the taggingcomponents 5 and the image of underlying structure 802.

It is noted that the operations of the vertical distance analyzingmodule 462 and the horizontal distance analyzing module 463 regardingcalculation of the distances may be similar to that of theshortest-distance analyzing module 461.

According to one embodiment of the disclosure, the distance analysisunit 46 may be configured to output the distance data to the processorunit 40, which in turn controls the display unit 41 to display at leastpart of the distance data. For example, the distance data displayed onthe display unit 41 may include, for each of the tagging components 5,the calculated shortest distance, the calculated vertical distance, andthe calculated horizontal distance with respect to the image ofunderlying structure 802. As such, the personnel may be directlyinformed of the spatial relation between each of the tagging components5 and the image of underlying structure 802.

The distance alert module 464 is configured to compare the shortestdistances with an alert distance that can be preset by the personnel.

Furthermore, the distance alert module 464 is operable by the personnelto activate/deactivate a shortest distance alert mode. When the shortestdistance alert mode is activated, the distance alert module 464 isconfigured to display, for each of the monitoring sectors, a visible cueon the monitoring sector when the shortest distance correspondingthereto is smaller than the preset alert distance.

In one example, the visible cue uses different colors and/or differentbrightness intensities to indicate different values of the shortestdistance between the monitoring sector and the image of underlyingstructure 802.

Similarly, the distance alert module 464 is operable by the personnel toindividually activate/deactivate vertical and horizontal distance alertmodes.

When either the vertical or horizontal distance alert mode is activated,the distance alert module 464 is configured to display, for each of themonitoring sectors, a visible cue on the monitoring sector when thevertical/horizontal distance corresponding thereto is smaller than thepreset alert distance. In some examples, different preset alertdistances may be used in the vertical and horizontal distance alertmodes. In one example, the visible cue uses different colors and/ordifferent brightness intensities to indicate different values of thevertical/horizontal distance between the monitoring sector and the imageof underlying structure 802.

Additionally, different colors and/or brightness may be applied torespective visible cues for the vertical and horizontal distance alertmodes.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for creating athree-dimensional bone image 430 of a bone 701 to assist orthopedicssurgery according to one embodiment of the disclosure.

In use, the method may be implemented using the system as illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2, during the course of an orthopedics surgery.

In step 901, the image processing device 4 processes the 3D bone model800 to obtain a plurality of spatial locations of the bony landmarks801, respectively. In this embodiment, the bony landmarks 801 aredefined as a part of the bone 701 that may serve as a visual referenceto other body structures. For a temporal bone, the bony landmarks 801may include parts corresponding with an edge of the external auditorymeatus (EAM), a mastoid part of the temporal bone, a vaginal process ofthe temporal bone, etc.

In step 902, the 3D scanning device 3 scans the bone 701 to generate abone contour image 30. It is noted that during the course of theorthopedics surgery, the personnel may place the positioning components703 on the bone 701 to correspond respectively with the bony landmarks801 before performing step 902. The bone contour image 30 may bedisplayed on the display unit 41 upon generation.

In step 903, the image processing device 4 processes the bone contourimage 30 so as to identify a plurality of features 421 that correspondrespectively with the bony landmarks 801, and obtains a plurality ofspatial locations respectively of the features 421.

In one example, the image processing device 4 is configured to obtainthe spatial locations of the features 421 based on locationsrespectively of the positioning components 703. In another example, theprocessing of the bone contour image 30 includes identifying thefeatures 421 by analyzing the bone contour image 30 according to shapesrespectively of the bony landmarks 801. In another example, the imageprocessing device 4 displays the bone contour image 30, and in responseto a user-input marking signal on a spot of the display unit 41indicating one of the features 421, obtains a spatial location on thebone contour image 30 corresponding with the spot of the display unit 41as the spatial location of the one of the features 421.

In step 904, the image processing device 4 performs image registrationfor the 3D bone model 800 and the bone contour image 30 by aligning thespatial locations of the bony landmarks 801 respectively with thespatial locations of the features 421, so as to create the 3D bone image430 by proportionally overlapping the 3D bone model 800 and the bonecontour image 30. As shown in FIG. 4, the image of underlying structure802 included in the 3D bone model 800 may be displayed on the bonecontour image 30.

It is noted that in different cases, the image of underlying structure802 may be displayed in different manners. For example, in FIG. 3, acontour of the image of underlying structure 802 is displayed in brokenlines, while in FIG. 4, the image of underlying structure 802 maybedisplayed in a perspective manner (the actual details of the underlyingstructure are not necessary to describing the embodiment, and thereforeare omitted).

In this embodiment, during the course of the orthopedics surgery, theprevious steps may be performed multiple times (e.g., periodically).

In step 905, the image processing device 4 processes the bone contourimage(s) 30, so as to indicate an operation surface 440 on the 3D boneimage 430 corresponding with a contour of a depressed area 702 on thebone 701, generated due to the orthopedics surgery. In this embodiment,the operation surface 440 is determined by processing a plurality of thebone contour images 30.

Furthermore, the image processing device 4 determines a direction of theimage of underlying structure 802 with respect to the operation surface440, and generates direction data regarding the direction of the imageof underlying structure 802.

In step 906, the image processing device 4 partitions the operationsurface 440 into a plurality of monitoring sectors, and obtains aplurality of shortest distances between the image of underlyingstructure 802 and the operation surface 440 respectively from themonitoring sectors, to be included in distance data. Furthermore, theimage processing device 4 compares the shortest distances with a presetalert distance, and displays, for each of the monitoring sectors, avisible cue on the monitoring sector when the shortest distancecorresponding thereto is smaller than the preset alert distance.

In some embodiments, the image processing device 4 further obtains aplurality of vertical distances between the image of underlyingstructure 802 and the operation surface respectively from the monitoringsectors, or a plurality of horizontal distances between the image ofunderlying structure 802 and the operation surface 440 respectively fromthe monitoring sectors, and the distance data includes the vertical orhorizontal distances.

Furthermore, the image processing device 4 compares each of the verticaldistances and the horizontal distances with a preset alert distance, anddisplays, for each of the monitoring sectors, a visible cue on themonitoring sector when one of the vertical distance and the horizontaldistance corresponding thereto is smaller than the preset alertdistance.

It is noted that during the course of the orthopedics surgery, wheneverthe personnel intends to be informed of a distance between any spot ofthe operation surface 440 and the image of underlying structure 802, thepersonnel may place one tagging component 5 at the spot, and operate thesystem 2 to repeat the above method, so as to create a new 3D bone imagethat includes the corresponding tagging point 501.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a system 2 for creating athree-dimensional (3D) bone image 430 (see FIG. 4) of a bone 701 (seeFIG. 3) according to one embodiment of the disclosure.

This embodiment differs from the embodiment of FIG. 2 in that the imageprocessing device 4 further includes a marking unit 48 that isuser-operable to mark the features 421 on the bone contour image 30 (seeFIG. 4) displayed by the display unit 41.

In one example, the marking unit 48 is integrated with the display unit41 in the form of a touch screen, and the personnel may use a finger, astylus pen or other objects to touch the part of the touch screen so asto mark the features 421. In other examples, the marking unit 48 may beembodied using a keyboard/mouse set that is connected to or built in theimage processing device 4.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a system 2 for creating athree-dimensional (3D) bone image 430 of a bone 701 according to oneembodiment of the disclosure.

This embodiment differs from the embodiment of FIG. 2 in that the imageprocessing device 4 further includes a timer 49 that is configured tocontrol the 3D scanning device 3 to periodically scan the bone 701 andto generate a plurality of the bone contour images 30, and to controlthe image processing device 4 to periodically create the 3D bone image430 based on the bone contour images 30. In examples, a repeatingcountdown time period may be set by the personnel, such as 5 minutes, 10minutes, 30 minutes, etc. After it is determined that the countdown timeperiod has run out, the 3D scanning device 3 is controlled to scan thebone 701, the image processing device 4 creates the 3D bone image 430based on the newly generated bone contour image 30, and the timer 49starts the countdown time period again.

In some examples, when the countdown time period is about to run out(e.g., have 10 seconds, 30 seconds or 1 minute remaining, etc.), thetimer 49 may generate an alert that is visible or audible to thepersonnel (e.g., a buzz sound). In response, the personnel may pause theorthopedics surgery and clear the depressed area 702.

In this manner, the personnel may be updated with the informationregarding the spatial locations of the depressed area 702 on the bone701 and the image of underlying structure 802 periodically, and the needto have a person holding the 3D scanning device 3 to perform furtherscanning operation is eliminated.

To sum up, the embodiments of the disclosure provides a system 2 and amethod for creating a three-dimensional (3D) bone image 430 of a bone701 of a patient to assist orthopedics surgery. Specifically, the system2 and the method are capable of creating the 3D bone image 430 byproportionally overlapping the 3D bone model 800 and the bone contourimage 30.

Since in an orthopedics surgery, the bone 701 may be continuouslydrilled or chipped to form a depressed area 702 having a shape that ischanging during the course of the orthopedics surgery, personneloperating the system 2 may obtain spatial information of a selected spoton the depressed area 702 of the bone 701 with reference to otherstructures of the patient. When a distance between the selected spot onthe depressed area 702 and an image of underlying structure becomessmaller than a preset alert distance, a visible cue may be generated toalert the personnel.

That is to say, the system 2 and the method described in the disclosuremay be useful for navigating the personnel in performing the orthopedicssurgery by providing spatial information on the 3D bone image 430, andenabling the personnel to determine appropriate actions during thecourse of the orthopedics surgery, reducing risks of accidentallydamaging the structures covered by the bone 1.

In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details have been set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to oneskilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practicedwithout some of these specific details. It should also be appreciatedthat reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number andso forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristicmay be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be furtherappreciated that in the description, various features are sometimesgrouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereoffor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in theunderstanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or morefeatures or specific details from one embodiment may be practicedtogether with one or more features or specific details from anotherembodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what areconsidered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that thisdisclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intendedto cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope ofthe broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modificationsand equivalent arrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for creating a three-dimensional (3D)bone image of a bone to assist orthopedics surgery, the system to beused with a 3D bone model of the bone, the 3D bone model beingconstructed by scanning the bone using X-ray computed tomography, the 3Dbone model including a plurality of bony landmarks, the systemcomprising: a 3D scanning device to scan the bone and to generate a bonecontour image; and an image processing device that is coupled to the 3Dscanning device for receiving the bone contour image, and that includesa positioning unit to process the 3D bone model so as to obtain aplurality of spatial locations respectively of the bony landmarks, andto process the bone contour image so as to identify a plurality offeatures that correspond respectively with the bony landmarks and toobtain a plurality of spatial locations respectively of the features, animage alignment unit to perform image registration for the 3D bone modeland the bone contour image by aligning the spatial locations of the bonylandmarks respectively with the spatial locations of the features, so asto create the 3D bone image by proportionally overlapping the 3D bonemodel and the bone contour image, and a display unit to display the 3Dbone image.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said display unit isfurther to display the bone contour image, and said image processingdevice further includes a marking unit that is user-operable to mark thefeatures on the bone contour image displayed by said display unit. 3.The system of claim 1, the bone being placed with a plurality ofpositioning components that correspond respectively with the bonylandmarks, wherein said positioning unit is configured to obtain thespatial locations of the features based on locations respectively of thepositioning components.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein saidpositioning unit is configured to identify the features by analyzing thebone contour image according to shapes respectively of the bonylandmarks.
 5. The system of claim 1, the 3D bone model including animage of underlying structure, the bone having a depressed areagenerated due to the orthopedics surgery, wherein said image processingdevice further includes: a contour analysis unit configured to processthe bone contour image so as to indicate an operation surfacecorresponding with a contour of the depressed area on the 3D bone image;a direction analysis unit configured to determine a direction of theimage of underlying structure with respect to the operation surface, andthat to generate direction data regarding the direction of the image ofunderlying structure; and a distance analysis unit configured todetermine distance data regarding a distance between the image ofunderlying structure and the operation surface based on the directiondata.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein: said contour analysis unit isconfigured to partition the operation surface into a plurality ofmonitoring sectors; and said distance analysis unit includes ashortest-distance analyzing module that is configured to obtain aplurality of shortest distances between the image of underlyingstructure and the operation surface respectively from the monitoringsectors, and the distance data includes the shortest distances.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein said structure distance analysis unit furtherincludes a distance alert module that is configured to compare theshortest distances with a preset alert distance, and to display, foreach of the monitoring sectors, a visible cue on the monitoring sectorwhen the shortest distance corresponding thereto is smaller than thepreset alert distance.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the visible cueuses one of different colors and difference brightness intensities toindicate different values of the shortest distance between themonitoring sector and the image of underlying structure.
 9. The systemof claim 5, wherein: said contour analysis unit is configured topartition the operation surface into a plurality of monitoring sectors;said distance analysis unit includes a vertical distance analyzingmodule that is configured to obtain a plurality of vertical distancesbetween the image of underlying structure and the operation surfacerespectively from the monitoring sectors, and a horizontal distanceanalyzing module that is configured to obtain a plurality of horizontaldistances between the image of underlying structure and the operationsurface respectively from the monitoring sectors; and the distance dataincludes the vertical distances and the horizontal distances.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein said structure distance analysis unit furtherincludes a distance alert module that is configured to compare each ofthe vertical distances and the horizontal distances with a preset alertdistance, and to display, for each of the monitoring sectors, a visiblecue on the monitoring sector when one of the vertical distance and thehorizontal distance corresponding thereto is smaller than the presetalert distance.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the visible cue usesone of different colors and different brightness intensities to indicatedifferent values of said one of the vertical distance and the horizontaldistance.
 12. The system of claim 5, further comprising a taggingcomponent that is to be placed on the depressed area, wherein: said 3Dscanning device is configured to scan said tagging component along withthe bone to generate the bone contour image to contain an image of saidtagging component; said positioning unit is configured to identify theimage of said tagging component in the bone contour image, so that thethree-dimensional bone image generated by said image processing devicecontains the image of said tagging component; said positioning unit isconfigured to obtain a location of the image of said tagging component;and said distance analysis unit is further configured to determine adistance between the image of underlying structure and the image of saidtagging component based on the location of the image of said taggingcomponent and to indicate the distance between the image of underlyingstructure and the image of said tagging component in the 3D bone image.13. The system of claim 5, wherein said image processing device furtherincludes a timer that is configured to control said 3D scanning deviceto periodically scan the bone and generate the bone contour image, andto control said image processing device to periodically create the 3Dbone image based on the bone contour image.
 14. A method for creating athree-dimensional bone image of a bone to assist orthopedics surgery,the method to be implemented by a system used with a 3D bone model ofthe bone, the 3D bone model constructed based on a bone using X-raycomputed tomography, the system including a three-dimensional scanningdevice and an image processing device, the 3D bone model including aplurality of bony landmarks, the method comprising: processing, by theimage processing device, the 3D bone model to obtain a plurality ofspatial location for the bony landmarks, respectively; scanning, by the3D scanning device, the bone to generate a bone contour image;processing, by the image processing device, the bone contour image so asto identify a plurality of features that correspond respectively withthe bony landmarks, and obtain a plurality of spatial locationsrespectively of the features; and performing, by the image processingdevice, image registration for the 3D bone model and the bone contourimage by aligning the spatial locations of the bony landmarksrespectively with the spatial locations of the features, so as to createthe 3D bone image by proportionally overlapping the 3D bone model andthe bone contour image.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:displaying, by a display unit of the image processing device, the bonecontour image; wherein the processing of the bone contour imageincludes, in response to a user-input marking signal on a spot of thedisplay unit indicating one of the features, obtaining a spatiallocation corresponding with the spot of the display unit as the spatiallocation of the one of the features.
 16. The method of claim 14, whereinthe processing of the bone contour image includes identifying thefeatures by analyzing the bone contour image according to shapesrespectively of the bony landmarks.
 17. The method of claim 14, the bonebeing placed with a plurality of positioning components that correspondrespectively with the bony landmarks, wherein the processing of the bonecontour image includes obtaining the spatial locations of the featuresbased on locations respectively of the positioning components.
 18. Themethod of claim 14, the 3D bone model including an image of underlyingstructure, the bone having a depressed area generated due to theorthopedics surgery, wherein the processing of the bone contour imagefurther includes: indicating an operation surface corresponding with acontour of the depressed area on the 3D bone image; determining adirection of the image of underlying structure with respect to theoperation surface, and generating direction data regarding the directionof the image of underlying structure; and determining distance dataregarding a distance between the image of underlying structure and theoperation surface based on the direction data.
 19. The method of claim18, wherein: the processing of the bone contour image further includespartitioning the operation surface into a plurality of monitoringsectors; the method further comprises obtaining a plurality of shortestdistances between the image of underlying structure and the operationsurface respectively from the monitoring sectors, the distance dataincluding the shortest distances.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein:the processing of the bone contour image further includes partitioningthe operation surface into a plurality of monitoring sectors; the methodfurther comprises obtaining a plurality of vertical distances betweenthe image of underlying structure and the operation surface respectivelyfrom the monitoring sectors, and a plurality of horizontal distancesbetween the image of underlying structure and the operation surfacerespectively from the monitoring sectors, the distance data includingthe vertical distances and the horizontal distances; and comparing eachof the vertical distances and the horizontal distances with a presetalert distance, and displaying, for each of the monitoring sectors, avisible cue on the monitoring sector when one of the vertical distanceand the horizontal distance corresponding thereto is smaller than thepreset alert distance.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the visiblecue uses one of different colors and different brightness intensities toindicate different values of the shortest distance between themonitoring sector and the image of underlying structure.